anilnetto.com

Live coverage tomorrow: All eyes on Perak

-

2 Mar 2009

state-secretariat-building

2302: All’s quiet in ‘sleepy’ Ipoh tonight. It’s been raining the whole evening, says my contact in Ipoh. At Ground Zero, FRU trucks are parked in front of the state secretariat/assembly building.

Even the MB’s residence is exceptionally quiet. Not even a ‘ghost’ in sight. Where’s everyone?

In just over eight hours, another drama will begin in Ipoh, the latest chapter in the constitutional crisis that has captured the attention of Malaysia.

With a couple of contacts in Ipoh providing me updates, I hope to provide some modest live coverage from about 8.00am tomorrow. If you are in Ipoh as well, do send in your comments and eye-witness reports if you see or hear anything on the ground.

Continue

Grim times for electronics sector

Economy

Anil Netto

-

2 Mar 2009

23

Sam G, who works in the electronics sector, shares with us the grim outlook in the industry and the ruthless way workers – and even management staff – are being retrenched:

…. it is REALLY, REALLY BAD now. I was at the USM EKSPEN 09. Only 11 companies were there having open interviews! This is one Expo to get companies to interview graduating USM students!

I have been retrenched twice in four months, first by the largest lab equipment manufacturer in the world, and the second time, by a NanoTech equipment manufacturing company.

Continue

Drama in Brickfields

Anil Netto

-

1 Mar 2009

25

In case you missed it, here’s what happened when a group of people turned up to lodge police reports in Brickfields yesterday, courtesy of Malaysiakini.

Malaysia’s economy takes a dive

Anil Netto

-

28 Feb 2009

22

gdp

Uh-oh, the bottom’s fallen out Source: Statistics Department

myr-3q07-4q08

Ringgit weakens against the US dollar and Yen

Buckle up, folks! We are in for some tough times.

Malaysia’s economy took a dive in the fourth quarter as GDP stood on the brink of negative territory, growing by just by 0.1 per cent, compared to 4.7 per cent in the third quarter.

Continue

Perak Speaker calls for emergency sitting on 3 March

Anil Netto

-

28 Feb 2009

18

Perak Speaker V Sivakumar calls for an emergency sitting of the state assembly Photo by KK

The emergency sitting is to vote on two motions: to affirm support for Nizar as the MB and to seek a dissolution of the state assembly, paving the way for fresh polls.

Continue

Nationalise the Malaysian highways

Anil Netto

-

27 Feb 2009

23

So the government has put off the highway toll hike to the end of the year.

But before you rejoice, think about this: the government will have to pay RM287m in compensation to the concessionaires:

Plus – RM195m
Sprint – RM36m
Akleh – RM27m
Besraya – RM9m
NPE – RM20m

That’s our money going straight into the concessionaires’ pockets. Easy money for doing nothing.

By the way, Plus Expressways Berhad made a profit before tax of RM1.5 billion for the year ended 31 December 2008 – up from RM1.3 billion the previous year.

Continue

Inflation lower but food prices remain high

Anil Netto

-

27 Feb 2009

7

cpi

Source: Statistics Department, Malaysia

Inflation may have dropped to 3.9 per cent in January 2009 in line with the fall in consumer demand and the end of the commodity price bubble. But even though the agriculture commodity bubble has burst, food prices remain high with the consumer price index showing a 9.8 per cent rise in January for food. (The food and non-alcoholic beverages component contributes over 80 per cent of the 3.9 per cent rise in the CPI index.) Imagine, the index for rice, bread and other cereals has shot up by 18 per cent.

Continue

Disgraceful scenes in Parliament lobby

Democracy

Anil Netto

-

26 Feb 2009

96

The ruckus in the Parliament lobby where a group of angry Umno Youth supporters confronted Karpal this afternoon was disgraceful.

DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng alleged that he was assaulted and hit a number of times on the face and his body.

This incident reveals a breach of parliamentary security. Why did DAP MPs have to come to Karpal’s rescue? What happened to the security personnel on duty?

Continue

Singapore sinks deeper into recession

Anil Netto

-

26 Feb 2009

9

The Singapore economy shrank 4.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 despite posting an annual growth of 1.1 per cent for last year.

For 2009, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is maintaining its forecast of minus 2-5 per cent, though others think it could be more than minus 5 per cent if the global economy worsens.

The IMF is projecting a global recovery next year – but that looks more than a little optimistic, perhaps wishful thinking. Truth be told, no one knows for sure how long this worldwide depression will last – certainly not the so-called economists who never saw all this coming 18 months ago. Any recovery is unlikely to be quick as the biggest consumers in the world by far are in the United States – and we all know they are in deep trouble.

Continue

Snapshots from Bukit Gantang

Anil Netto

-

26 Feb 2009

8

A small white elephant in Bukit Gantang? – Photos by Jong

You have seen them dotted all over the country. Small projects which never really take off after construction. The amounts involved may be small – but they all add up. Who really benefits from all these small white elephants?

Continue